Quote

Thomas Paine's version of "you didn't build that":

"Separate an individual from society,and give him an island or a continent to possess,and he cannot acquire personal property. He cannot be rich. So inseparably are the means connected with the end,in all cases,that where the former do not exist the latter cannot be obtained. All accumulation, therefore,of personal property,beyond what a man's own hands produce, is derived to him by living in society; and he owes on every principle of justice,of gratitude,and of civilization,a part of that accumulation back again to society from whence the whole came"
Submitted by Leah

Administration

United States Wars, News and Casualties

The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.

Damn The War Criminals,Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Powell and Blair from England.

How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.

The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.

Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry.

We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!

The McGlynn

War News

Photo

U.N. agencies have warned that at least 3.5 million more Yemenis could slip into the pre-famine stage amid the soaring food crisis in the impoverished Arab nation devastated by war. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

CAIRO — The United Nations Population Fund is warning that the looming famine in war-torn Yemen could put 2 million mothers at risk of death.

UNFPA said late on Thursday that lack of food, displacement, poor nutrition, disease outbreaks and eroding health care have dramatically affected the health and well-being of 1.1 million malnourished women who are pregnant or are breast-feeding their newborns.

Since March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition has waged war in Yemen against the country’s Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, who toppled the internationally recognized government.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed over 10,000 people and sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The U.N. has made no progress in attempts to get the warring sides to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

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Guards searching the wreckage of a building after airstrikes in the capital, Sana, in June.CreditCreditKhaled Abdullah/Reuters

Before reading the article:

The conflict between Saudi-backed forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, has captured growing international attention. The recent killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi journalist, seems to have been the catalyst to drawing more scrutiny to Saudi Arabia’s behavior and role in the conflict.

Then, watch this 10-minute “PBS NewsHour” video covering the war in Yemen. If you are short on time, you can watch just the first minute.

1. Look at the map of Yemen embedded in the article. Who are the main parties to the conflict?

2. How did the civil war begin?

3. Why did Saudi Arabia get involved in this conflict? What does Saudi involvement look like?

4. In what ways is the civil war in Yemen a severe humanitarian crisis — what The New York Times has recently described as “the world’s worst”?

5. This article was published in June, when the offensive to capture the port city of Hudaydah had just started. The siege is still going on today. Why were the United Nations and aid agencies so worried about the battle for Hudaydah even then?

CAIRO/ADEN (Reuters) – The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it attacked Sanaa International Airport and an adjoining airbase being used by Houthi insurgents, as the two warring sides also clashed further west in the country’s main port city.

The violence broke out days after renewed U.S. calls for a ceasefire in the three-and-half-year war that the Saudi-backed government suggested it was ready to support.

Houthi forces were using the airbase in the capital to launch drone and ballistic missile attacks, a coalition spokesman told Saudi state al-Ekhbaria TV on Friday.

Flights and international aid efforts were not affected, Colonel Turki al-Malki said.

Al-Masirah TV, which is controlled by the Houthis, said more than 30 air strikes targeted al-Dulaimi Air Base in Sanaa and the surrounding areas.

In the port of Hodeidah, fighting broke out early on Friday in a southern district, residents and military sources said.

The coalition had massed thousands of troops near the city on Wednesday, in a move to pressure the Iran-aligned Houthis to return to U.N.-sponsored peace talks…………….Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting since March 2015 against the Houthis, who drove the country’s internationally recognized government into exile in 2014.

The Houthis control much of north Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

The war has devastated the country’s infrastructure and driven much of its population to the brink of famine.

BEIRUT (Reuters) – At least eight people were killed by Syrian government shelling of the rebel-held Idlib province on Friday, according to a monitoring group — the highest daily toll since a Russian-Turkish demilitarization zone was set up around the region.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred in the town of Jarjanaz, which lies on the inner edge of the 15-20 km (9-13 mile) deep zone agreed in September.

The agreement, struck between Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s most powerful ally, and Turkey, which backs the rebels, staved off a government offensive to retake Idlib and adjacent opposition-held regions.

The U.N. says around 3 million people live in those areas and has said a battle to restore Assad’s control there could be the worst of the seven-year-old war……………The Observatory, a British-based monitoring group, has reported regular exchanges of fire between government and rebels since the September deal. At least 18 people have been killed by government shelling since then.

The following reports compile all significant security incidents confirmed by New York Times reporters and stringers throughout Afghanistan. It is necessarily incomplete as many local officials refuse to confirm casualty information.

In the past week, the Times confirmed that 18 members of the security forces and 36 civilians were killed in Afghanistan as fighting spread to eight provinces. An additional 21 people were killed in clashes between a local militia and the Taliban in Uruzgan, but the breakdown of security force and civilian deaths was unclear. This was the least violent week in Afghanistan since the Times started tracking casualties in September.

Nov. 01 Baghlan Province: three militia members killed

Three militia members, including a commander, were killed and three others were wounded in clashes between two local militia groups in Baghlan-e-Markazi District.

Oct. 31 Uruzgan Province: 21 people killed

Clashes between the Taliban and a local militia commander named Hakim Shujaee have been terrorizing Khas Uruzgan District for several days. The exact reason of fighting is not clear. Twenty-one people, both militia members and civilians, were killed and hundreds of families have been trapped by the fighting or displaced from their homes.

Oct. 31 Kabul City: three police and four civilians killed

Three police officers and four civilians were killed by a suicide bomber. Four police officers and four civilians, including three children, were wounded in the attack. The target was a bus carrying prison workers to the Pol-e-Charkhi prison. The Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Oct. 30 Kunduz Province: two pro-government militia members killed

A vehicle of pro-government militias hit a roadside bomb in Arjal village of Khan Abad District. Two pro-government militias were killed and five more were wounded in the explosion. A local commander was among those killed.

The shadow deputy governor of the Taliban group for southeastern Ghazni province was killed along with the Red Unit in-charge of the group during the airstrikes conducted by the U.S. forces in Ghazni province.

The 203rd Thunder Corps of the Afghan Military in the Southeast in a statement said a total of 12 militants were killed during the airstrikes conducted in Moqor, Aab Band, and Andar districts.

The statement further added that the deputy shadow governor of the group Mullah Nasim also famous as Dawood Lang and Red Unit in-charge Abdullah were among those killed.

Another key Taliban group leader identified as Daru Khan was also killed during the airstrikes, the statement added.

In the meantime, the 203rd Thunder Corps said a militant was killed and five others were wounded during a separate clash with the security forces in Niazi area located in the outskirts of the provincial capital of Ghazni province.

At least seven militants were killed or wounded during a clash between the Afghan forces and the anti-government armed militants in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan.

The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan Military in the North in a statement said Thursday a clash broke out between the Afghan Commandos and militants in Pashtun Kot district of the province late on Wednesday night.

The statement further added that the clash took place in Sangi Zard village of the district, resulting into the killing of three militants while four others sustained injuries.

According to 209th Shaheen Corps, the militants killed or wounded during the clash, belonged to a Taliban leader Hamidullah who is also famous as Tilani.

The Afghan commandos did not suffer any casualty during the clash, the 209th Shaheen Corps added in its statement.

Recent Casualties:

Color Denotes Today’s Confirmation

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operations Resolute Support and Freedom’s Sentinel.

Spc. James A. Slape, 23, from Morehead City, North Carolina, died Oct. 4, 2018, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as a result of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device. The incident is under investigation.

Slape was assigned to 60th Troop Command, North Carolina Army National Guard, Washington, North Carolina.